shun the light

"I did." She leaves it at that for now.

Then her mouth curls again. "You know, just because you've got an invite to come in here doesn't mean you don't have to knock. What if Valka were here, or Booker."

Still a little breathless, she turns, sits on her desk, still rubbing at her neck as she works the soreness away, voice now raspy from Lucia's aggressive play. "So, you can stand the sun. What's first, Disney?"

But she lifts the piece of jewelry to show Heron, reluctant to remove it for fear of turning to ash and dust even here in the hunter's home -- she does move closer, however, so she can inspect it.

Lucia's voice is soft and quiet, and the choking clicks escaping from her mouth might resemble protests, but Lucia's grip is tight.

A free hand finds a stiletto of needle-sharp thin wood as she scans the room, the dim light of her office, whose currently blinded windows betray rims of daylight outside, making her already widened eyes pop more open at the realization.

Hunger has never once been a burden for her, but here and now she feels that pang in her stomach, the drought at the back of her tongue and her throat that tells her she wants nothing more to sink her fangs into this woman and drain her dry.

There's a hint of a smirk that comes after the snarl fades when she realizes Heron is looking at the blinds, at the sunlight crashing through and illuminating her features. "Things are a'changing." Lucia laughs the words out, as she grips at her wrist.

Without the fear of a stake sliding through her ribs, she leans forward, letting her fangs slide against Heron's neck - a promise of what's to come, showing her that she will sate her hunger here and now.

"If you knew I'd hear about it, then you should have told me yourself." Lifting her head, she makes eye contact again, eyes narrowing. Her grip doesn't fall away, but she does use it as leverage to bring herself even closer, their lips brushing against each other's.

They inhale two slices of pizza before their appetite is satiated, and they go back to making minute adjustments to the machine. As time ticks by, the crystals begin to form under pressure, a deep blood-red that they've never seen in a natural gemstone. As the last of Lucia's blood starts siphoning through the tubes, Kore's eyes gleam as she faces the woman. "Pick a piece you'd like to wear," they gesture around the store. "Something you wouldn't mind wearing every day."

"This one, I believe." She approaches, holding the unfinished piece of jewelry between two gentle fingers and drops it into Kore's waiting hand and watches as she sets the gemstone into it and any other touches that need to be done.

While she's never one to be nervous, when she slips the bracelet on, there's something stirring and anxious within her gut-- It doesn't feel like anything has changed, and with Kore looking at her seemingly expectant, she walks over to a window and slowly pushes her arm through into the sunlight.

Nothing happens.

"I haven't." He desperately wants to feed, the need so overpowering his knees tremble at times ⸻ but he remembers the angry eyes watching him, mangled faces screaming how could you. He blinks. "I can't. Lucia, I can't hunt." The mere idea of it sends shivers down his spine, but he still grabs his jacket. He doesn't know why he is so eager to follow orders, even when he stomach hurts thinking about killing someone.

"Nikko." She begins, almost exasperated - but keeping her tone as soothing as possible. "Blood lust is a normal thing to experience as a vampire. Your proclivities before being turned have transferred over -- You've been detoxing, yes?" Rhetorical question, that.

They scribble down notes furiously, muttering a few thoughts under their breath. The process for creating a lab-grown flux crystal is complicated, and she doubts that Lucia is interested in the technical aspects of it all. They pluck out bottles and starters, mixing chemicals together not unlike a mad scientist while they pull together the necessary contraption.

An hour later, she's told they need to wait even longer-- but again, nothing she minded. It would be worth it, once it's over, to see the sunrise again, feel its warm on her skin. She would be able to do so much more, experience so much more. Be herself again -- A chance she'd not gotten in centuries.

"By all means." She gestures towards the pizza she'd ordered, "Have your fill while we wait. The body will be dealt with when I leave."

-

They had warned Lucia beforehand that they would need as much of her blood as she could spare. Magic always came with a price and it was fickle enough when it came to Kore's powers.

"Sit. Wait. Summon a human to feed on. Whatever you want as long as it's quiet," Kore murmurs as they carefully pour an amount of Lucia's blood into a shallow copper bowl. Their fingers tremble slightly as they set the chalice aside, still filled with most of the blood the vampire provided, but their focus is on the bowl that they have prepared.

They slide their fingers into the bowl, dipping just the tips in Lucia's blood and they hold their breath. For a moment, they think that Lana's attempt to break through whatever block is just another in a long list of failures in their attempts to grasp their magic again. They can feel the answers brushing against their mind, and they gasp, eyes opening wide as their jaw grows slack.

"I see," they whisper, even as it seems like their gaze is caught between worlds. Snatching their hands out of the bowl, Kore wipes them messily on their shirt, uncaring about the stains while they reach for a pen and a pad of paper to scribble out the words that echo in their memory.

Despite the feeling of her muscles rubbing against bones and skin so vividly, paper against marble, she finds herself smiling at the idea that they're going to finally break part of the curse vampires have been saddled with.

While she waits, she watches Kore do their thing, tilting her head. Before they reach the final 'aha' moment, there's a knock. Lucia moves to answer it. Food for two.

The pizza box is set on one of Kore's counters and she quickly compels the human to step in, sit down and be quiet. It's not messy, but it isn't quick either - for Lucia to drain the poor delivery person from his essence. The lifeless body is dropped on the floor and Lucia leans back - somewhat sated - as she feels the blood pump through her veins. "I'll clean that up once we're done."

'Ever had a lab-grown gemstone before?'

Kore quirks their head at Lucia's proposition and waits for her to continue. Puzzles are their specialty, both mundane and magical, and already the promise of a challenge stirs in their blood. When the vampire reveals the true intent of her question, their eyes grow wide in surprise. They certainly hadn't been expecting that.

"I've been told there's some research that takes it from lost cause to working theory. I just need a witch with skills and intelligence to work on it."

Shrugging lightly, she sits, picking on one of the pieces laying about, inspecting it with mindless interest. "Murder, with a touch of torture."

There will be pieces missing, and Lucia doesn't care to know them. The less implication the better.

He wonders if Persephone weeps when Spring is over, on her way down the railroad tracks ⸻ through the gardens, through the rivers. To the place where the sun doesn't touch, warmth doesn't reach. Persephone in the garden, borrowed time, borrowed life. Or maybe she is brave; head held high in the face of Death. He knows there can be braveness in crying, but he doesn't feel very fearless in his sorrow. How do you grieve for yourself? ⸻ He could barely help the spirits do it, and now he is only one soul in the Styx. The pang of utter anguish in his no-beating heart nearly makes him lose his balance ⸻ standing around the corner of the Satin, in nothing but an old worn tee and his pajamas pants. It has dinosaurs on it, and he would feel extremely ridiculous had his head not been heavy by dread.

Besides, he knows Persephone doesn't put on her fancy dresses to go back in her cage.

But Hades loves her, doesn't he? It is why he kidnapped Persephone from her gardens. Lucia, on the other hand ⸻ She tolerates him. His blood ⸻ his witch blood, running so powerful and deep in his veins he could still taste it, even days after it was poisoned ⸻ was his only ace in this game. Would she want him around now, where his blood is nothing but ash and his teeth twitch when he catches a whiff of life? He is not worth keeping around anymore. Fuck. If she sends him away, he hopes she does it fast. He doesn't know how long he can keep his mind straight. He feels himself slipping, the longer he stands here; outside from where blood is surely pumping, by lust and desire and ⸻

He gulps. Perhaps sneaking out of the house wasn't a good idea. There, surrounded by the scents of his parents and familiarity, it was easy to ignore the hunger. Here, he feels his claws digging into the skin of his palms. His entire body trembles ⸻ vibrates when he looks up, green eyes ⸻ dark red ⸻ finding her when she leaves the back door. "Hey," he calls, moving so slowly towards her. He doesn't wanna leave the shadows. "We need to talk. Something happened and I ⸻ Well ⸻ I ⸻" Fuck, this was easier in his head. He can feel the heartbeats coming from inside, the voice in his head getting louder and louder and ⸻ "I need to get away from here. From them."

When she leaves the Cabaret, locking it behind her, she smells the faint smell of him - tainted even further by rot and death. In a movie or a romance novel, she might have whipped her head around and followed it. Instead, she turns the key in the door and simply pockets them as she turns - slowly - to meet whoever it is that's meeting her.

The words from his lips, though hidden by shadows, hold enough weight and scent for her to know exactly what's happened. No longer her little witchling, but something corrupted. Her eyes narrow.

"Follow me, then."

To her car, where they can drive far away from whatever temptation is holding him in thrall.